If I let myself, I could probably feel a lot of mum guilt over the lack of planning and preparation we’ve so far undertaken ahead of Baby 2’s arrival.
I’ve harped on previously about how underprepared I was, in many respects, for Ted. But I suppose (hope?) all new parents feel that way; you CAN’T be prepared for parenthood. Not really.
I did try though, pre-Ted: I devoted hours of time to hypnobirthing practice (granted, not much help once he was out in the world…). And we bought the necessary transportation devices, and clothes, and a few things that promised the miracle of sleep: the Sleepyhead cushion, for example; great, but no miracle.
We also created the lovely space that is Ted’s nursery, even though he didn’t sleep in it until he was seven months old. (We still used it from day one – for changing him and plonking all of the many gorgeous gifts we received).
This time around, I’ve done zero hypnobirthing practice. I’ve bought nothing yet for Baby 2. Embarrassingly, the Snuzpod that Ted slept in for the first six months of his life is still in our room, currently being used as a clothes horse, so we only need to give that a (thorough) clean and we have Baby’s bed all set.
Maybe I’m in denial! It simply feels like there aren’t enough hours in the day as it is, to devote brainspace to thinking about Baby before he or she arrives. Sorry Baby 2. You are very much loved and wanted; it’s just that I need to conserve some energy before you zap it all from me. I trust that’s ok. Thanks.
Anyway, it should therefore go without saying that we haven’t yet figured out where Baby 2 might sleep once he or she is out of our room. Gadzooks – that’s still the best part of a year away (7.5 months?). We’ve AGES to sort that one out. (What’s the betting that nothing will have been sorted in 8 months’ time?!)
We don’t have another spare room as such – although my office might just be big enough for a cot – and we don’t have a spare pot of cash to splash on creating another beautiful nursery. So let’s cross that bridge when we come to it, and focus on Ted’s lovely room instead!
(And yes, I realise what a prat I sound in using the word ‘tour’ for one modest-sized room.)
I shamelessly stole the idea for our mountains wall mural from a fabulous blogger called Jen; she is a much more helpful blogger than me and did a whole tutorial on it, which you can read here.
I roped in Graham to create the mural after he’d painted the walls a light grey shade (Dulux Polished Pebble). I don’t recall the exact shades we used for the mountains, I’m afraid. We didn’t follow Jen’s design or colour scheme to the letter, and so if you find a dark grey, a lighter grey for the background mountains and a bright white then you shouldn’t go too far wrong.
Unfortunately, after G had completed his masterpiece, I realised that the cot would need to go against the wall he’d painted the mural on.
I don’t think he was very pleased with me.
Still, I love how it looks and the lovely mural still creates an impact in the room (albeit a subtle one).
I knew I wanted white furniture that wasn’t too fussy. We chose a set from George at Asda which was super cheap – a cot that transforms into a bed, plus a chest of drawers with a changing topper. They’re not the greatest of quality, if I’m honest, but they absolutely do the job and they look fine.
I don’t think Asda’s nursery furniture range is as big as it was a couple of years ago, but they still have various budget items that are worth checking out.
We also bought the Ikea Poang chair as a nursing chair, which was again copied from the aforementioned blog because I have very few original ideas, obviously. For approximately 360 nights I fed Ted at least once on this chair, and can confirm that it is very comfy indeed.
Accessories maketh the room, and accessories allow the first-time mum to go mad in TK Maxx and on Etsy…
I loved buying bits and pieces for Ted’s room; these days, it’s not quite as aesthetically-pleasing to me because there’s now more ‘stuff’ in it than we originally had, and it doesn’t all fit with my intended colour scheme of monochrome with flashes of orange and yellow and green. Poor me, eh? Actually using a room and having a child who acquires ‘stuff’ will do that.
Most things were bought over two years ago now, but similar pieces can still be found in the aforementioned TK Maxx (ace for cushions); curtains were from Very; artwork was from Not on the High Street or Etsy; the light-up cat wearing glasses print was from Asda; the rug was from Aldi (also surprisingly good for random home bits). The laundry bins were from H&M, and I bought String Shelves because I’d seen lots of them on Pinterest and I am a sheep. We also bought display shelves from B&Q to make a bit of a ‘feature’ of books.
And there we have it! A very short tour of a small(ish) nursery.
Now, back to batting away mum guilt and avoiding picking up my hypnobirthing books…
Thanks for reading, and bye for now x
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